Hotel Isabella

The noise from the road is loud if you sit on the balcony, though closing the door keeps most of it out. Inside, the bigger issue is the lack of sound insulation between rooms. You can hear literally every word the person next door says. Staff are super lovely and incredibly helpful, and the beds were the comfiest I’ve slept in anywhere in Italy. The shower pressure was great, and breakfast wasn’t half bad. It’s about a 20-minute walk into Sorrento, and there are stretches of street without footpaths. Taxis are usually available at the stand outside, or the hotel can call one. Expect around €20 each way for a three-minute drive.

This felt like three stars at best, definitely not a four-star hotel. The rooms are small and basic, with no tea or coffee facilities or tissues, and the air conditioning kept switching off. When we arrived, there were no bath towels, hand towels or bath mat. Reception didn’t answer the phone, so I had to walk down two floors, and the lift is so bloody slow. Breakfast doesn’t start until 7am, and it gets chaotic when you’re competing with other tour groups. They only offered black coffee. Even for the pool, I had to go down to reception because there were no towels in the pool area.

We liked that the hotel was a little away from the main strip and very close to the water. The room was nice, clean and had good air conditioning, and the pool was a lovely extra. Breakfast was good, with warm servers who brought us nice coffee. We really enjoyed our stay.

Breakfast had lots of different things and was delicious, and there’s a wonderful poolside restaurant next door. The hotel is a little out of the way, but taxis are available and downtown is only about a 20-minute walk. We loved the clean, modern place, especially the great showers, and the staff were super nice and helpful. We’d stay again in a heartbeat.